Lowell worker arrested, suspected of rubbing inmate's buttocks

Thursday

Samuel Derea Williams, 37, was taken into custody on a battery charge.

A food service coordinator at Lowell Correctional Institution was arrested Wednesday on suspicion of grabbing an inmate's buttocks.

Samuel Derea Williams, 37, was taken into custody on the battery charge when he arrived for work at the all-female prison, at 11120 NW Gainesville Road in Lowell.

Williams was then transported to the Marion County Jail for booking. He was released at 11:34 p.m. Wednesday after posting bail, which was set at $2,500.

The warrant for his arrest was signed by a judge on Tuesday, according to Williams' arrest report.

Inspector Michael Green, with the inspector general's office of Florida Department of Corrections, was notified by Warden Stephen Rossiter about the incident, according to an arrest report. The alleged crime took place around midday on Sept. 14 in the culinary area at Lowell.

Green learned that the inmate, whose name was not released, told Lt. Latorsha Dove that while working in culinary, Williams rubbed her buttocks.

Green reviewed surveillance video, which showed Williams talking with the inmate while she was cleaning. He waited until no one was in the area and used his left hand to rub/grab the inmate's buttocks while she was cleaning, according to the report.

Officials said the woman could be seen pulling away from Williams and they had some type of discussion. Williams then walked away.

The inmate told Green she confronted Williams when he grabbed her. She said Williams asked if she was going to assault him and then walked away. The inmate said she left the area and reported the incident to the lieutenant.

"The Florida Department of Corrections has zero tolerance for staff who act inappropriately and contrary to our core values," FDOC Director Michelle Glady said in a prepared statement. "The actions of this staff member are absolutely no representation of the professionalism and respect displayed daily by the thousands of Department staff across Florida."

DOC officials said Thursday that they are in the processing of terminating Williams from his job.

Williams' arrest came on the same day a former Lowell trainee was sentenced for sex with an inmate. Nicholas Seaborn Jefferson, 27, was sentenced to two years in prison.

Several people connected to Lowell, mostly corrections officers, have had problems with the law.

Last year, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division met with alleged victims and families and loved ones of inmates at Lowell to get their statements about alleged sexual abuse there. At the meeting, family members and former inmates told the Star-Banner about inmate abuse at the hands of the corrections officers.

During the meeting, government officials said that if their investigation uncovers other allegations, then they might expand their probe, and noted that the investigation would take months. The investigation is ongoing.

In recent months, corrections officials at the prison have been arrested on suspicion of a wide range of offenses, including sex with an inmate, aggravated battery involving an inmate, and drug trafficking.

There have been at least two protests at Lowell in recent weeks over the severe beating of inmate Cheryl Weimar.